On overtravel and skate in cantilever-based probes for on-wafer measurements

Arscott, S.

doi:10.1088/1361-6439/ac521e

Cited by 4 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(82 reference statements)

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“…First, a relationship between the lateral and vertical tip deflection will be developed by assuming circular bending, as was observed experimentally. Second, this relationship will be used to predict the tip skate of a triangular cantilever due to an imposed overtravel—a comparison will be made with the rectangular cantilever case 11 . Third, the contact force between the tip of the triangular cantilever and the surface will be modelled.…”

Section: Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Elementary trigonometry allows one to obtain the following formulae for the overtravel and the skate in terms of the and the probe angle 11 : where and are the movement of the end of the cantilever due to bending by imposing an overtravel—see Fig. 13 .…”

Section: Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In an effort to understand this relationship I have conducted experiments on macroscopic triangular cantilevers. It has been shown previously that the measurement of macroscopic measurements can contribute an understanding to micrometric devices 11 , 18 . All this work has been done in the context of very low deflection AFM cantilevers.…”

Section: Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 d. The relationship between the overtravel, the skate, and the contact force depends on the shape and stiffness of the cantilever, as well as its tilt angle relative to the underlying surface. This relationship has been explored for cantilevers in the low-deflection regime 9 , 10 and described by the author for a rectangular cantilever undergoing high deflection 11 . In contrast, flat, tapered triangular shaped microcantilevers are favourable for on-wafer testing 8 due to their ease of positioning and a tapering which allows wide, low electrical resistance tracks to be relayed to small tip contacts—this is apparent in Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tip/surface tangency may also be of some importance in some applications to enable any metallic contact pads located at the probe tip to be parallel to the underlying contacting surface—along with the contact force, this geometry may also have implications in the minimum achievable contact resistance of the probe. The idea of zero-skate, via overtravel compensation 11 , also applies to triangular cantilevers—the findings point to a practical solution for this. Being able to predict the above issues is important for the engineer of MEMS microcantilever-based probes functioning in high-deflection—this is the objective of this paper.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Skate, overtravel, and contact force of tilted triangular cantilevers for microcantilever-based MEMS probe technologies

Arscott

2022

Sci Rep

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Microfabricated chip-edge microcantilevers are commonly used as surface probes, e.g. in near-field microscopy. Such probes normally function in the low-deflection regime, where their behaviour is very well understood and documented. In contrast, when microcantilevers are used for applications such as electrical testing probes, their deflection can be somewhat higher, taking them into the less well understood high-deflection regime of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Here, a scalable model for the relationship between the skate, overtravel, and resulting tip contact force in tilted triangular cantilevers—which are bending with high deflection and in contact with a flat surface—is presented. The model is tested experimentally using macroscopic triangular cantilevers—the experimental results agree well with the proposed model. The findings enable a practical solution for zero-skate in tapered MEMS probes to be suggested. It is hoped that the findings may be of use for probe engineers involved with on-wafer testing and designers of emerging MEMS micro cantilever-based probes.

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Section: Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Skate, overtravel, and contact force of tilted triangular cantilevers for microcantilever-based MEMS probe technologies

Arscott

2022

Sci Rep

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Static micromechanical measurements of the flexural modulus and strength of micrometre-diameter single fibres using deflecting microcantilever techniques

Reda,

Arscott

2024

Sci Rep

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The mechanical properties of natural and man-made fibres ultimately govern the robustness of products. Examples range from textiles to composite materials for mechanical parts in emerging technological applications. An accurate determination of the mechanical properties of microscopic single fibres is therefore important. Today, macroscopic mechanical techniques, such as tensile testing, are commonly employed to obtain this information. However, a relatively high dispersion of results is often encountered due to a relatively long sample size. As an alternative to tensile methods, we demonstrate here micromechanical techniques to accurately measure the flexural modulus and strength of micrometre-sized diameter fibres without the need of force sensing. To demonstrate our ideas, we use the example of single natural fibres (Linum Usitatissimum). The flexural modulus of the single fibres is first accurately measured in the low deflection regime of an inclined bending cantilever in an original setup. The flexural strength of the single fibres is then measured in the high deflection regime of a bending cantilever. Interestingly, the novel measurements have allowed the authors to quantify the flexural strength of two different failure modes in flax fibre, enabling a contribution to plant mechanics.

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Quantifying and correcting tilt-related positioning errors in microcantilever-based microelectromechanical systems probes

Arscott

2023

J. Micromech. Microeng.

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The impact of tilt-related errors on the positioning of microcantilever-based microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) on-wafer electrical probes, having multiple contact pads, is quantified and investigated here. A tilt error associated with probe roll results in the probe contact pads not being parallel to the approaching surface as a downward overtravel is imposed—this leads to one probe pad making contact with the surface before the others. In a MEMS-based probe, the analysis of the impact of roll error angle must consider both the bending and the torsion of the flexible cantilever as the overtravel is increased—something which eventually results in all pads being in contact with the surface, but not with the same contact force. An original mathematical description of the problem is presented. By making some assumptions, the analytical modelling enables the derivation of elegant equations relating the roll error angle and the cantilever deflection to achieve planarity of the cantilever apex with the underlying surface. The modelling predicts probe tip planarity for rectangular and trapezoidal shaped probes. The predictions of the modelling are tested by using macroscopic cantilevers—excellent agreement between modelling and experiment is demonstrated. The macroscopic experimental setup reveals interesting behaviour concerning a bending/twisting, tilted cantilever in contact with—and skating across—an underlying surface. The experimental findings also indicate the pertinence of the modelling for the potential use with understanding the behaviour of microscopic cantilevers—such as MEMS-based probes—similarly in contact with a surface. A flexible microcantilever enables a torsional compensation of the roll error angle. It also enables a protocol where the roll error angle can be corrected. The design geometry of the probe tip will determine which approach is best suited. In principle, the modelling is scalable to MEMS probes composed of silicon-based cantilevers.

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On overtravel and skate in cantilever-based probes for on-wafer measurements

Cited by 4 publications

References 38 publications

Skate, overtravel, and contact force of tilted triangular cantilevers for microcantilever-based MEMS probe technologies

Skate, overtravel, and contact force of tilted triangular cantilevers for microcantilever-based MEMS probe technologies

Static micromechanical measurements of the flexural modulus and strength of micrometre-diameter single fibres using deflecting microcantilever techniques

Quantifying and correcting tilt-related positioning errors in microcantilever-based microelectromechanical systems probes

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